


Invite

by SpecialHell



Series: Stucky AU series with Random Verbs for Titles [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Mentions of Injury and Death (not a Major Character), Nurse Steve Rogers, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 16:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17625854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpecialHell/pseuds/SpecialHell
Summary: The week between Steve & Bucky's first meeting and Movie Night doesn't go as planned.





	1. Chapter 1

“Did you call him yet?”

Steve would deny he jumped at the sound of Natasha’s voice in his ear. He turned around from the sign in desk, not bothering to feign ignorance.

“It’s barely been half a day,” Steve argued. “Don’t you think that’s a little… eager?”

“You telling me you’re not eager?” Nat quirked an eyebrow at him, and Steve ducked his head in embarrassment.

“It’s Sunday,” Steve tried. “Nobody wants to be bothered on a Sunday.”

“All Bucky does on Sundays is volunteer at the local soup kitchen. He’ll be serving lunches until 3pm, and then he’s perfectly free.”

 _Soup Kitchen?_ Steve’s brain was beginning to run overtime. _I’m being set up with an actual angel._

“Hey, don’t you usually go to the animal shelter after shift on weekends?”

Steve managed to pull himself from his panic enough to nod at her question, and Nat smiled.

“Send him a photo. One of you with that cute Malamute mix you like to visit.”

“Sierra,” Steve answered wistfully. If he didn’t live in such a small apartment, and wasn’t at work more often than not, he would have adopted her the first day he saw her.

“Yeah,” Nat poked Steve in the shoulder to pull him out of his dog-induced daze. “But maybe text him first? He doesn’t have your number yet.”

“What? Why?”

Nat shrugged, “He didn’t ask me to give it to him. He just said I should give you his number.”

“Oh,” Steve looked at the clock. He wasn’t due on rotation for another five minutes. He had time to send a courtesy text.

 

 **Steve:** _Hey. This is Steve. Nat gave me your number. This is mine._

 

“Wow that’s… formal.” Nat was looking over Steve’s crooked elbow as he typed. He winced at the way she said it, and hastily added another text.

 

 **Steve:** _Hope you’re having a good Sunday :)_

“Better?” Steve asked, exasperated but also nervous. Nat didn’t have a chance to reply, because Steve’s phone chimed.

 

 **Bucky:** _Hey, Steve. Glad to hear from you. Saved your number, looking forward to Saturday. Have a great shift today :)_

 

Steve couldn’t stop smiling down at his phone, and Nat had to jab him in the ribs three times before he would look up and move.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING  
> This chapter deals (very vaguely) with injury and death of a minor.  
> There's no descriptions, but if you're uncomfortable with that topic, please consider yourself warned.

Steve took Nat’s advice. Once his shift was over, he made his way over to the animal shelter. He’d been visiting for almost two years, and the shelter appreciated the calming effect he seemed to have on the dogs.

Steve snapped a picture with Sierra and sent it to Bucky. It didn’t take long to get a reply.

 

 **Bucky:** _Who is that beauty?!?_

 

Steve laughed and mumbled to Sierra, “See, I’m not the only one who thinks you’re beautiful, doll.”

 

 **Bucky:** _Where are you right now?_

 

Steve typed back a reply while Sierra went in search of her favourite toy.

 

 **Steve:** _Animal shelter. That’s Sierra. Don’t tell the others, but she’s my favourite._

 

 **Bucky:** _Thinking of adopting?_

 

Steve sighed at that. God, how he wished.

 

 **Steve:** _I can’t. My apartment is too small, and I’m never home._

 

Sierra returned, demanding attention, so Steve had to put his phone down. He stayed for a few hours, before heading home.

 

~

 

Saturday couldn’t come fast enough. Steve and Bucky had been messaging back and forth since Sunday; little innocuous messages about things they’d done or seen that day. Bucky sent Steve a picture of some graffiti he liked, and Steve admitted that he liked to draw. Everything seemed to be going well until Friday rolled around.

Steve knew something was up as soon as he walked through the doors for his night shift. He didn’t even need to ask; as soon as he approached the desk the head nurse stood to meet him.

“We’ve got multiple casualties from a pile up downtown, and I just got word of a serious injury incoming. Everyone else is busy, so you’ll need to take lead when it gets here.”

“We have any information?” Steve asked, frowning at the set to her jaw.

“Abdominal gunshot wound in a minor.”

Steve couldn’t stop the intake of breath. He wanted to ask questions, but he knew there was no time. It was none of his business how or why it happened, it was his responsibility to help fix it. He headed into the ER and was relieved to see Dr. Banner waiting inside. Not that he didn’t like all the other doctors in the hospital, but he and Bruce got along. It wasn’t exactly a friendship, but they worked well together, and Steve could tell that Bruce really cared about what they were doing.

 

They lost the kid. Steve was devastated.

 

His shift was meant to finish at 2am. He didn’t get out until 6am, and he knew he couldn’t go home. He sent a quick text to Sam. There were no details, it just said _‘Bad shift. Coming over.’_ Steve knew that both Nat and Sam would understand. Natasha was a paramedic and Sam was a bereavement counsellor. They both knew that when Steve said ‘bad day’ it meant so much more than most people could comprehend.

There was hot cocoa waiting when Steve stepped through the door. It took all his strength to get off his coat and shoes. Sam was nowhere to be seen, but Nat was sitting in her usual chair. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, and she didn’t speak when Steve approached the sofa. He was grateful. He slumped onto the sofa like a puppet with its strings cut and closed his eyes. Long moments passed in silence, as Steve soaked up the warmth of the apartment and the silent companionship Nat provided. When it finally felt like the world wouldn’t crumble around him, Steve opened his eyes and looked over.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Your cocoa is getting cold,” Nat replied, just as quietly. Steve sat up enough to reach the cocoa and took a sip. It was comforting, and it woke up his stomach. He remembered that the last time he’d eaten was almost twelve hours ago. Nat smiled at the grumbling sounds and stood up.

“You don’t have to…” Steve stopped speaking when Nat turned her head and _looked_ at him.

“Do you want eggs? If you do, I can only make scrambled.”

Steve gave Nat a helpless, tired smile, and nodded.

 

They ate scrambled eggs on English muffins, and Steve began to feel a little better. He still dreaded what came next. It wasn’t healthy to bottle things up, but talking was hard. When Nat handed him a cup of vanilla scented coffee, Steve took a deep breath and began.

“I lost one,” he sighed. Nat sat down next to him on the sofa, but didn’t interrupt. “Nine years old. She found a gun…” Steve closed his eyes and took another breath. “Someone threw it over a fence after an armed robbery. This nine year old girl found her dog sniffing at it, and picked it up to show her dad.”

“It went off,” Nat spoke softly. It wasn’t the first incident either of them had seen.

“Perforated her liver,” Steve sighed. “It was lucky she even made it to the hospital. We spent six hours in surgery. Bruce tried his best.”

“You all did,” Nat put her hand on Steve’s shoulder, and he leaned into the touch. “They know that.”

Steve nodded. He didn’t believe it just yet, but he knew it would be ok in time. They tried not to let the job hurt them, but Steve wouldn’t have a heart if he didn’t feel a loss like this one.

“I don’t think I can take a horror movie tonight,” Steve was apologetic, but Nat just smiled.

“I’ll find something a little lighter. You should get some sleep. Sam’s out until this afternoon; take his bed.”

Steve wanted to protest, but he was tired to his bones, and the thought of wrapping himself up in a blanket was too tempting.


	3. Chapter 3

After sleeping for four hours, Steve took a shower and gratefully accepted the grilled cheese Nat made him for lunch. When Steve voiced his plans to go home and change before their planned movie night, Nat took a few moments to evaluate him before nodding her approval of his plan.

 

It was close to 7pm by the time Steve got back to Nat and Sam’s place. He could hear Sam’s booming laugh from the hallway, and something tight unwound in his chest at the sound. He opened the door to see Sam and Bucky sitting on the sofa. Nat was, presumably in the kitchen. Sam looked up at the sound of the door closing, and the sympathy in his eyes told him that Nat already filled their friend in. Bucky looked too, and all Steve could see in his expression was happiness. Steve slipped off his shoes and jacket quickly, wanting to be in proximity to that smile as soon as possible. He settled between Sam and Bucky on the sofa - Sam had purposely moved up when Steve was taking off his shoes. The desire to burrow down into the warmth was almost overwhelming, and Sam’s hand on his arm told Steve that he wasn’t hiding it well.

“I, uh,” Bucky was talking, and Steve focussed his attention in that direction. Sam’s hand didn’t move, but Steve felt him shift enough to look at Bucky too. “I got you something…”

Steve was confused, but tried to keep his face neutral. Bucky leaned over his side of the sofa and returned with something fluffy. He presented it to Steve with trepidation in his eyes.

It was a stuffed animal.

A stuffed dog.

A stuffed _Sierra_.

Steve didn’t realise he was crying until he felt the tears dripping off his chin. Bucky looked panicked, and Sam’s hand tightened on Steve’s arm.

“I’m sorry…” Bucky didn’t know what was happening, and now that Steve had started he couldn’t seem to stop.

The tears rolled down his cheeks, and his breaths came in shuddering gasps. Nat appeared from somewhere, and Steve could feel her thin fingers running through his hair. There was whispering above him, so Steve assumed someone was filling Bucky in on why there was a blubbering mess sitting right next to him. Suddenly there was a hand gripping his. Steve looked up to see Bucky, closer than he had been, with a genuinely concerned look on his face. It wasn’t pity, as he’d been expecting. Glancing down, Steve saw that Bucky was still holding the stuffed dog in his metal hand. Reaching out slowly, his tears finally slowing down, Steve touched the dog.

“It’s adorable,” Steve’s voice sounded hoarse, but the words still made Bucky smile. “Thank you, Bucky.”

They sat in silence for a moment longer. Nat’s hand remained on the base of Steve’s skull, Sam was still holding onto his arm, and Bucky’s right hand still rested in his left.

“What’s for dinner?” Steve asked when he was feeling more stable. Nat gave his neck one last squeeze before letting go.

“Thai,” she answered. “I didn’t feel like cooking, so we ordered just before you got here.”

“Ok.” Steve felt a little stupid now that he was done crying. He hadn’t broken down like that in a long time. Sam would say that’s probably why this hit him so hard - it wasn’t just about today. As if reading his mind, Sam gently pulled on Steve’s arm to get his attention.

“Want me to get you a drink?”

“Please,” Steve tried to smile. “Water.”

Sam stood up and left without another word, and now Steve’s nerves kicked in. Bucky was still holding his hand, and Steve didn’t know what to do now.

“Here,” Bucky pushed the stuffed dog into Steve’s free hand, and he curled the toy into his chest. Steve wasn’t expecting Bucky to use the new freedom of his left arm to wrap said arm around Steve’s shoulder. It didn’t take much coaxing from Bucky for Steve’s body to sag into his side. Steve decided to be embarrassed about this tomorrow. Right now he was tired, and Bucky’s arms were anchor points where they touched him.

 

The food arrived, and Steve heard Nat say something about what movie they were going to watch, but he wasn’t paying attention to any of it. The chatter around him, and the safety of Bucky’s embrace, soothed his jagged emotions, and he was happy to keep drifting a little while longer.

 


End file.
